Cochabamba here we come

Hi everyone. I have decided to use proper punctuation and capital letters in this blog you'll be pleased to hear if you are one of the stylistically frustrated readers of my last blogs. I have used lots of green on this blog, as it is one of the colours on the Bolivian flag, and also supposedly reduces your heart rate, so reading this blog is officially good for you. Enjoy.

So this Thursday I'm off on my merry way to Cochabamba, in Bolivia, with my team of 5 volunteers. We are volunteering as part of the ICS programme (www.ics-uk.org.uk), at a homeless children's centre, and I am the team leader (which involves being part of the team and some extra responsibilities). Cochabamba is Bolivia's 3rd biggest city. My uncle Chris had gone there in the 60's when it was a 'small market town'. It now has a population of about 650,000, so has grown a bit. The population of Bolivia is around 9 million, with 1.5 million in La Paz, the capital. I have been to Bolivia before, but not to this part of it, so I'm getting excited about seeing a new place.

Bolivia has a pretty big problem with poverty, which leads to / continues the cycle of homelessness, lack of education and opportunities (especially for girls and especially for the indigenous population), and drug problems, amongst other things. The project my team and I will be working at is called Mosoj Yan. Mosoj Yan means ‘new road’ in Quechua (the indigenous language of that area of Bolivia). It was founded in 1991 with the aim of assisting young women working on the streets. This Christian organisation provides various different rehabilitation and prevention services to young women and children. Mosoj Yan runs four different programs around the city, including a daycare shelter with educational facilities, two residential homes, a handicrafts shop, and a café.

The aims and objectives of Mosoj Yan are:

• To provide educational services and support for girls looking for alternative employment
• To support girls through the process of social reintegration
• To provide shelter for those who have left home
• To create micro-finance opportunities
• To offer counseling and psychological aid, as well as legal, educational and health services

So we will be helping to run workshops (on anything from arts and crafts, to self-esteem, to baking etc), doing some TEFL teaching, maybe some gardening, games, or all sorts of other things that they need us to do, alongside the Bolivian staff members and volunteers. In our team we are: me, 2 boys and 3 girls, who I met at our training weekend - they're Leanne, Nikki, Leonie, Daryl and Tom. They are all very lovely - let's hope the feeling's mutual, and let's hope the loveliness lasts. 

I've had my jabs (complete with having to lie in the recovery position to recover as I don't like jabs); got my US dollars (you can't get Bolivianos in the UK); had some Spanish lessons; bought a new camera; tried to think of ideas for activities we can do with the children out there; and had a flamenco lesson (got to be prepared for all eventualities). Just need to do my packing now - anyone that wants to help, come round to mine on Wednesday and you'll get a free coffee in return (or other item of food that needs using up from my cupboard - chocolate mousse if you're lucky / tinned mackerel if you're not). 

Thanks for reading, and I will try to do weekly updates as we go along. 3 days and 4 flights (wish me luck) is all that stands between us and our amazing adventure now. 

Adios chicos - I'll leave you with a picture of the Bolivian flag and the president Evo Morales (click link for an interesting article re him and the relations between him and the US). Re the flag: (wiki-quote) According to one source, the red stands for Bolivia's brave soldiers, while the green symbolizes fertility and yellow the nation's mineral deposits (source of much plundering by the developed world (my note)).


(flag in waving mode)


(Evo Morales looking very indigenous)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12166905

Hasta pronto, el pepinillo xx